Total pages in book: 29
Estimated words: 26739 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 134(@200wpm)___ 107(@250wpm)___ 89(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 26739 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 134(@200wpm)___ 107(@250wpm)___ 89(@300wpm)
“Ah-ha! I knew it, you were cheating. Your device history has all the answers to the test in Google.”
I swung around to stare at him in disbelief. No. He wouldn’t. But the shame and terror in his eyes said everything I needed to know. He had, and of all the teachers to try this with, he chose Mrs. Rogers. Was he insane?
Before I could rip into him, he immediately began sobbing. The sudden shift from terror to tears made me jolt in surprise.
“I’m sorry! I’ve had a lot on my plate so I didn’t have time to study and I didn’t remember anything from the test so I thought I would do it once. I’ve never cheated before so please don’t fail me. I can retake it when I’ve had more sleep!”
I didn’t have to watch for Mrs. Rogers’s reaction to know that it wasn’t going to happen like that. She was known as the meanest teacher for a reason and my brother was about to find out why. Unless there was something I could do to save him. I stepped forward quickly.
“Ma’am, my brother is very sorry so is there any way that he can make this up?” I knew it was probably futile to hope for her to suddenly grow a heart, but I had to try. Kurt looked ready to have a mental breakdown and while I was irritated and disappointed beyond belief with him, I still loved him.
Mrs. Rogers shook her head, but then she paused. The smile that twisted her lips made my stomach curl. The glint in her eyes promised something truly horrific and I suddenly wanted to take my question back. She was a teacher, I tried to reassure myself, surely she couldn’t demand anything too bad.
“You have the same watch as he does, my dear. Did you cheat as well? Naughty, naughty. You two were my best students, now I can see why. The Dean will be so disappointed in both of you,” she said silkily.
Ice immediately swept through my veins. Now the bitch was accusing me of cheating? But I did no such thing!
“You can look at my watch’s history if you want but I didn’t cheat,” was my stiff reply.
I straightened my spine and returned her glare; I wouldn’t stand by and take false accusations on my character, not without fighting back at least.
Besides, I knew the only thing she would find on my watch was fitness tracking information. I would bring it to the Dean if I had to, but that would be a last ditch effort since it would out my brother as a cheater.
But instead of demanding to see my watch, Mrs. Rogers sneered.
“No need, I’ll think up a punishment and call you later, Kim, to let you know what you can do. There may be something you can do to make it up. Wait for my call, dearie. Now then, I believe school is over, so give me some space while I consider next steps.”
I grabbed Kurt, hightailing it out of there before she could say anything else. The decidedly witchy cackle she let out as we left didn’t help in my attempts to keep both my brother and I calm. She’s a teacher, she can’t hurt us, I kept repeating in my mind as I dragged Kurt back to the truck. But when we got home he was in for an earful from me.
4
Kim
“What the hell were you thinking?” I demand forcefully. “Tell me, please!”
Kurt cringed in his chair, the air around him practically oozing with apology. I didn’t care. I deserved answers and wanted them now.
As it stood, we were both nervously waiting for Mrs. Rogers’s call. I felt jumpy, waiting for the phone to ring. Even worse, she didn’t say when to expect her call. It could be today, tomorrow, or two weeks from now.
But to be honest, I was surprised Mrs. Rogers didn’t go straight to administration to report my brother. It was strange that she was willing to consider alternatives, seeing that she held no love for Kurt to begin with.
The ringing of the phone made both of us jump, my hand snatching it up with more force than necessary as Kurt lunged to his feet behind me. I could hear his breath pick up as he began to hyperventilate, and the sound aggravated me further as I spoke into the phone.
“Jones household, Kimberly speaking.”
“Hello, this is Time Warner,” a recorded speaker began. I immediately slammed the phone down, irate. This was no time for distraction.
“Kurt,” I demanded again forcefully. “What were you thinking? Why would you cheat? You’re smart, and you don’t need to cheat. Besides, one bad grade on a test isn’t a life or death situation.”
My brother’s eyes began to tear and he sniffled a bit.
“I—,” he began, but then the phone rang again.